The death of a spouse is obviously one of the most profound events that you can experience. Once the initial wave of emotions has subsided and you are capable of taking care of practical matters, you must ask yourself what comes next from a financial perspective.
If you have insurance policies or payable on death accounts, you are going to have to consider new beneficiaries. In a general sense, your existing estate plan that was put in place while your spouse was still alive is invariably going to need some adjustments to reflect the altered dynamic.
There is also the matter of taking care of yourself going forward. You have to analyze your assets and liabilities, take stock of your income after the passing of your spouse, and devise a financial plan that suits your current situation.
Without question, all the above can be a bit overwhelming, especially during such an emotional time. This is one of the reasons why it is a good idea to develop a relationship with an estate planning attorney as you create an initial plan, and to work with this attorney as life changes take place.
Your attorney will be able to assist you with estate administration tasks after the passing of your spouse, and will already have a thorough understanding of your situation. Your estate planning attorney will be ideally suited to make the appropriate estate plan adjustments after you explain your precise objectives, and can assist your family members when future estate administration tasks present themselves.
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